THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF 26 APRIL 1974

• Document Type: FOIA
• Collection: President's Daily Brief 1969-1977
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): 0006007733
• Release Decision: RIPPUB
• Original Classification: T
• Document Page Count: 13
• Document Creation Date: August 14, 2016
• Document Release Date: August 24, 2016
• Publication Date: April 26, 1974

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The President's Daily Brief
April
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April 26, 1974
If
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Exempt from general
declassification schedule of E.O. 11652
exemption category 5B( I
declassified only on approval of
the Director of Central Intelligence
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THE PRESIDENT'S DAILY BRIEF
April 26, 1974
PRINCIPAL DEVELOPMENTS
Portugal's new leader, General Antonio de Spinola,
publicly pledged last night to work toward the early
re-establishment of constitutionality. He promised
to respect Portugal's international commitments.
(Page 1)
The Kremlin is still exuding confidence about the
future of detente, even though such confidence is
marred by concern about the near-term outlook.
(Page 2)
(
President Sadat's decision to elevate Minister of
Economy Hijazi to first deputy prime minister con-
firms his determination to continue Egypt's liberal-
ized economic policy despite criticism from the So-
viets and radical Arabs. (Page 4)
The arrest of an employee of Chancellor Brandt's of-
fice as an East German spy will fuel attacks on
Ostpolitik by the opposition. (Page 5)
The "Notes" page
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PORTUGAL
General Antonio de Spinola, Portugal's new
leader, publicly pledged last night to work toward
the early re-establishment of constitutionality.
He said a constituent assembly and then a president
of the republic will be chosen in free elections.
Spinola himself is a likely candidate for president.
Spinola also promised to honor all Portugal's
"international obligations under established trea-
ties."
The seven-man junta set up by the officers who
seized power early yesterday asserts that the coun-
try is under complete control. There are no reports
of resistance and the coup itself was almost blood-
less.
In his speech last night Spinola made only
generalized reference to the principal issue that
sparked the coup--Portugal's policy toward the wars
in its African territories. The insurgents have
consistently asserted that they will accept nothing
less than complete Portuguese withdrawal from Af-
rica and independence for the territories. They
are not disposed to accept Spinola's plan for in-
creased autonomy within a federal system.
The insurgencies will continue in Africa and
may even grow as the rebels seek to benefit from
the sudden change in Lisbon.
The governments of Rhodesia and South Africa,
long suspicious of Portugal's staying power in
Africa, will now be inclined to the view that they
have no choice but to expand their military forces.
Rhodesia, in particular, sees Mozambique as the key
to its own security and, in its defense plans, has
Consistently defined Mozambique as a buffer against
increased insurgency in Rhodesia.
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USSR
The Kremlin's recent pronouncements on detente
continue to show confidence that, despite obstacles,
a patient pursuit of its "peace offensive" will pay
off. The defensive quality of some of these state-
ments suggests, however, that Soviet leaders are con-
cerned about the near-term outlook.
Speaking at the Soviet Communist youth congress
in Moscow this week, Brezhnev said the words "peace
offensive" indeed aptly describe the Soviet foreign
policy line, which he claimed is progressing stead-
fastly though not without certain difficulties.
Brezhnev blamed the Maoists in Peking and "imperi-
alist circles" for attempting to undermine Soviet
detente policies, but the Soviet leader maintained
that his gradualist, step-by-step approach would
produce positive results.
Politburo candidate-member Ponomarev, in a re-
cent speech, said that Brezhnev's policies have re-
sulted in the Kremlin's voice being listened to
everywhere with "massive attention." Ponomarev
noted, however, that "stubborn efforts" will be re-
quired if the "systematic provocations" against Mos-
cow's peace policies are to be overcome and if detente
is to become irreversible. Ponomarev defensively
asserted that there was no reason to change Soviet
foreign policy merely because of "temporary political
situations."
In a somewhat different vein, Moscow's leading
Washingtonologist, Yury Arbatov, has assessed the
prospects for detente in an article written especially
for United Press International. Addressing US-Soviet
relations, Arbatov says that the improvement so far
in bilateral relations may not prove to be lasting
if steps are not taken soon to give it more substance.
Arbatov argues that Soviet students of American af-
fairs regard the present US commitment to detente as
"very complicated and contradictory." He alleges
that the US has tried to interfere in Soviet inter-
nal affairs, presumably emigration policies, thus
endangering mutual trust and confidence. If obsta-
cles to trade and other economic matters are not re-
moved, Arbatov writes, there may be a serious setback
in relations.
Arbatov further warns that the arms race may
grow unless measures are taken soon to go beyond cer-
tain unspecified provisions of the ABM treaty concluded
in May 1972. This may be an allusion to an issue that
might be raised at the forthcoming summit in Moscow.
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ISRAEL-SYRIA-LEBANON
Fighting on the Golan front yesterday was light;
UN patrols reported only intermittent artillery and
small arms fire. Israeli aircraft flew reconnais-
sance missions and defensive patrols over both the
Golan Heights and southern Lebanon, but no ground-
attack missions or aerial combat was detected.
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EGYPT
President Sadat went forward with his long-
planned..cabinet reorganization yesterday, and moved
Economy Minister Hijazi up to a newly created pOst
of first deputy prime minister. Hijazi is the
author of Egypt's liberalized economic policy; his
elevation confirms Sadat's intention to pursue this
policy despite criticism from the Soviets and the
radical Arabs. .
Hijazi will be prime minister in all but name;
Sadat retains the formal title. Sadat's retention
of the prime ministership is chiefly a public rela-
tions gesture. He assumed the post:in March 1973
when he formed a "confrontation cabinet" to central-
ize planning for the war.
His original plan was apparently to make Hijazi
prime minister, but When the plan surfaced following
the disengagement agreement with Israel, Sadat was
criticized for paying too 'little attention to the
still uncompleted "confrontation." He responded by
pledging to remain in the post until the last Is-
raeli soldier had left Arab territory.
The new cabinet has few new faces. Foreign
Minister Fahmi retains his post, as does War Minis-
ter Ismail, who has been given the additional posi-
tion of deputy prime minister. Ismail is now one
of three deputy prime ministers under first deputy
Hijazi'. Each of the three also holds a ministerial
portfolio.
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'WEST GERMANY
The arrest yesterday of Guenter Guillaume, an
employee of the chancellor's office, and five others
as spies for:East Germany will enable the opposition
Christian Democrats to play on public sentiment that
has become more skeptical of Ostpolitik over the
past year. The Christian Democrats will point to
Guillaume as proof that the policy has not moderated
the basically hostile attitude of the Pankow regime.
Brandt reportedly had been contemplating an
early meeting with East German chief Honecker to
reinvigOrate Ostpolitik and thus help reverse Social
Democratic losses both in the polls and in several
recent state and local elections. If the Guillaume
affair becomes a major political issue, this meeting
presumably would have to be put off. The first test
of the impact of the Guillaume affair on the voters
will come in an important 'state election in Lower
Saxony on June. 9.
Brandt cannot afford to soft-pedal prosecution
of the suspects, but he will probably take the public
position that the affair does not, in the long run,
prove that Ostpolitik is not a Valid policy. He
will get considerable sympathy from the outset as
being but the latest victim of East'German espionage,
and this could increase if the opposition tries to
make too much of the affair. Brandt will hope that
the case will prove to have as little political im-
pact as did the Steiner affair of 1972, in which an
opposition deputy and sometime East German agent was
bribed to keep Brandt in power.
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UK
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USSR
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NOTES
Canada:
West Germany Middle East: After a five-day
visit to Algeria and Egypt, Chancellor Brandt is pro-
jecting the idea that he succeeded in improving
European-Arab relations. At both stops, the "Euro-7
pean" aspect of Brandt's visit?Germany is currently
in the EC Council chair--was underscored./
/Despite all the
fanfare, it will probably be some time before con-
crete steps toward closer EC-Arab cooperation are
taken, mainly because most community members do not
want to complicate further their relations with the
US.
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